askowethu.co.za

Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 22, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.

We use Your Personal Data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words whose initial letters are capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

• Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
• Affiliate means an entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a party, where "control" means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.
• Application refers to AskOwethu, the software program provided by the Company.
• Company (referred to as either "the Company", "We", "Us" or "Our" in this Privacy Policy) refers to AskOwethu, 2410 Mnisi Street.
• Cookies are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.
• Country refers to: South Africa
• Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cell phone or a digital tablet.
• Personal Data (or "Personal Information") is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual. We use "Personal Data" and "Personal Information" interchangeably unless a law uses a specific term.
• Service refers to the Application or the Website or both.
• Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.
• Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
• Website refers to AskOwethu, accessible from askowethu.co.za.
• You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Collecting and Using Your Personal Data

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using Our Service, We may ask You to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

• Email address
• First name and last name
• Phone number
• Address, State, Province, ZIP/Postal code, City

Usage Data

Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.

Usage Data may include information such as Your Device's Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device's unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit Our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.

Information Collected while Using the Application

While using Our Application, in order to provide features of Our Application, We may collect, with Your prior permission:

• Information regarding your location
• Pictures and other information from your Device's camera and photo library

We use this information to provide features of Our Service, to improve and customize Our Service. The information may be uploaded to the Company's servers and/or a Service Provider's server or it may be simply stored on Your device.

You can enable or disable access to this information at any time, through Your Device settings.

Tracking Technologies and Cookies

We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on Our Service and store certain information. Tracking technologies We use include beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze Our Service. The technologies We use may include:

• Cookies or Browser Cookies. A cookie is a small file placed on Your Device. You can instruct Your browser to refuse all Cookies or to indicate when a Cookie is being sent. However, if You do not accept Cookies, You may not be able to use some parts of our Service.
• Web Beacons. Certain sections of our Service and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of a certain section and verifying system and server integrity).

Cookies can be "Persistent" or "Session" Cookies. Persistent Cookies remain on Your personal computer or mobile device when You go offline, while Session Cookies are deleted as soon as You close Your web browser.

Where required by law, we use non-essential cookies (such as analytics, advertising, and remarketing cookies) only with Your consent. You can withdraw or change Your consent at any time using Our cookie preferences tool (if available) or through Your browser/device settings. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

We use both Session and Persistent Cookies for the purposes set out below:

• Necessary / Essential Cookies
  Type: Session Cookies
  Administered by: Us
  Purpose: These Cookies are essential to provide You with services available through the Website and to enable You to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. Without these Cookies, the services that You have asked for cannot be provided, and We only use these Cookies to provide You with those services.
• Cookies Policy / Notice Acceptance Cookies
  Type: Persistent Cookies
  Administered by: Us
  Purpose: These Cookies identify if users have accepted the use of cookies on the Website.
• Functionality Cookies
  Type: Persistent Cookies
  Administered by: Us
  Purpose: These Cookies allow Us to remember choices You make when You use the Website, such as remembering your login details or language preference. The purpose of these Cookies is to provide You with a more personal experience and to avoid You having to re-enter your preferences every time You use the Website.

Use of Your Personal Data

The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:

• To provide and maintain our Service, including to monitor the usage of our Service.
• To manage Your Account: to manage Your registration as a user of the Service. The Personal Data You provide can give You access to different functionalities of the Service that are available to You as a registered user.
• For the performance of a contract: the development, compliance and undertaking of the purchase contract for the products, items or services You have purchased or of any other contract with Us through the Service.
• To contact You: To contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication, such as a mobile application's push notifications regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, products or contracted services, including the security updates, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.
• To provide You with news, special offers, and general information about other goods, services and events which We offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or inquired about unless You have opted not to receive such information.
• To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to Us.
• For business transfers: We may use Your Personal Data to evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Data held by Us about our Service users is among the assets transferred.
• For other purposes: We may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve our Service, products, services, marketing and your experience.

We may share Your Personal Data in the following situations:

• With Service Providers: We may share Your Personal Data with Service Providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service, to contact You.
• For business transfers: We may share or transfer Your Personal Data in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of Company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of Our business to another company.
• With Affiliates: We may share Your Personal Data with Our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include Our parent company and any other subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other companies that We control or that are under common control with Us.
• With business partners: We may share Your Personal Data with Our business partners to offer You certain products, services or promotions.
• With other users: If Our Service offers public areas, when You share Personal Data or otherwise interact in the public areas with other users, such information may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside.
• With Your consent: We may disclose Your Personal Data for any other purpose with Your consent.

Retention of Your Personal Data

The Company will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if We are required to retain Your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

Where possible, We apply shorter retention periods and/or reduce identifiability by deleting, aggregating, or anonymizing data. We apply different retention periods to different categories of Personal Data based on the purpose of processing and legal obligations:

• Account Information
  • User Accounts: retained for the duration of your account relationship plus up to 24 months after account closure.
• Customer Support Data
  • Support tickets and correspondence: up to 24 months from ticket closure.
  • Chat transcripts: up to 24 months for quality assurance purposes.
• Usage Data
  • Website analytics data: up to 24 months from the date of collection.
  • Application usage statistics: up to 24 months.
  • Server logs: up to 24 months for security monitoring.

We may retain Personal Data beyond the periods stated above for the following reasons:

• Legal obligation: We are required by law to retain specific data.
• Legal claims: Data is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
• Your explicit request: You ask Us to retain specific information.
• Technical limitations: Data exists in backup systems scheduled for routine deletion.

When retention periods expire, We securely delete or anonymize Personal Data. Residual copies may remain in encrypted backups for a limited period and are not restored except where necessary for security, disaster recovery, or legal compliance.

Transfer of Your Personal Data

Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at the Company's operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. This information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of Your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of Your jurisdiction.

Where required by applicable law, We will ensure that international transfers of Your Personal Data are subject to appropriate safeguards. The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Delete Your Personal Data

You have the right to delete or request that We assist in deleting the Personal Data that We have collected about You.

You may update, amend, or delete Your information at any time by signing in to Your Account, if you have one, and visiting the account settings section that allows you to manage Your personal information. You may also contact Us to request access to, correct, or delete any Personal Data that You have provided to Us.

Please note, however, that We may need to retain certain information when we have a legal obligation or lawful basis to do so.

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

Business Transactions

If the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, Your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before Your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

Law Enforcement

Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Other Legal Requirements

The Company may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

• Comply with a legal obligation
• Protect and defend the rights or property of the Company
• Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
• Protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public
• Protect against legal liability

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect Your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Detailed Information on the Processing of Your Personal Data

The Service Providers We use may have access to Your Personal Data. These third-party vendors collect, store, use, process and transfer information about Your activity on Our Service in accordance with their Privacy Policies.

Usage, Performance and Miscellaneous

We may use third-party Service Providers to maintain and improve our Service.

• Mouseflow
  Mouseflow is a session replay and heatmap tool that shows how visitors click, move, scroll, browse, and pay attention on websites. The service is operated by ApS.
  Privacy Policy: https://mouseflow.com/privacy/
• FreshDesk
  FreshDesk is a customer support software operated by Freshworks, Inc.
  Privacy Policy: https://www.freshworks.com/privacy/
• Google Places
  Google Places is a service that returns information about places using HTTP requests, operated by Google.
  Privacy Policy: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/

GDPR Privacy Rights (European Economic Area)

If You are located in the European Economic Area ("EEA"), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") and equivalent local laws grant You specific rights regarding Your Personal Data.

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data

We process Your Personal Data under one or more of the following legal bases:

• Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR): Where You have given clear, freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent to the processing of Your Personal Data for one or more specific purposes (e.g., marketing communications, non-essential cookies). You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
• Contract Performance (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR): Where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which You are a party, or in order to take steps at Your request before entering into such a contract.
• Legal Obligation (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR): Where processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation to which the Company is subject (e.g., tax, accounting, and anti-money laundering obligations).
• Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR): Where processing is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided that such interests are not overridden by Your fundamental rights and freedoms. Our legitimate interests include: fraud prevention and security, improving our services, direct marketing to existing customers, and network and information security.

Your GDPR Data Subject Rights

Subject to applicable conditions and exceptions under the GDPR, You have the following rights:

• Right of Access (Article 15): You have the right to obtain confirmation as to whether or not Personal Data concerning You is being processed, and where that is the case, to request a copy of that Personal Data and supplementary information about how it is processed.
• Right to Rectification (Article 16): You have the right to request correction of inaccurate Personal Data and to have incomplete Personal Data completed.
• Right to Erasure / Right to be Forgotten (Article 17): You have the right to request deletion of Your Personal Data where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, where You withdraw consent (where processing is based on consent), where You object to processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds, or where processing is unlawful.
• Right to Restriction of Processing (Article 18): You have the right to request that We restrict the processing of Your Personal Data in certain circumstances, for example while We verify the accuracy of data You have contested.
• Right to Data Portability (Article 20): You have the right to receive Your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller, where technically feasible, where processing is based on consent or contract and is carried out by automated means.
• Right to Object (Article 21): You have the right to object at any time to processing of Your Personal Data based on legitimate interests, including profiling. You also have the right to object to processing for direct marketing purposes at any time.
• Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making (Article 22): You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects or similarly significant effects, unless certain exceptions apply.

How to Exercise Your GDPR Rights

To exercise any of Your GDPR rights, please contact Us at Info@askowethu.co.za. We will respond to Your request within 30 days. We may need to verify Your identity before processing Your request. Requests are free of charge, although We may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to act on repetitive or manifestly unfounded requests.

Right to Lodge a Complaint

If You believe We have not handled Your Personal Data in accordance with the GDPR, You have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority of the EU Member State of Your habitual residence, place of work, or the place of an alleged infringement. In the United Kingdom, the relevant supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

This section applies to residents of California and supplements the rest of this Privacy Policy. It is provided in accordance with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 ("CCPA") as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 ("CPRA") (together, "California Privacy Law").

Categories of Personal Information We Collect

In the preceding 12 months, We have collected the following categories of personal information:

• Identifiers — real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, IP address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers.
• Personal information under California Civil Code § 1798.80(e) — name, address, telephone number.
• Internet or other electronic network activity information — browsing history, search history, and information about a consumer's interaction with our Service.
• Geolocation data — physical location or movements (with Your permission).
• Inferences — drawn from the above to create a profile about a consumer reflecting preferences, characteristics, behavior, and attitudes.

We obtain these categories of personal information from You directly, from Your devices, and from third-party service providers.

We do not sell Your personal information as defined under California Privacy Law. We may share certain personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes, which may constitute "sharing" under the CPRA. You have the right to opt out of such sharing.

Your California Consumer Privacy Rights

• Right to Know (CCPA § 1798.100): You have the right to request that We disclose what personal information We have collected about You, the sources of that information, the business or commercial purposes for collecting it, the categories of third parties with whom We share it, and the specific pieces of personal information We hold about You.
• Right to Delete (CCPA § 1798.105): You have the right to request deletion of personal information We have collected from You, subject to certain exceptions (e.g., legal obligations, security, completing a transaction You requested).
• Right to Correct Inaccurate Information (CPRA § 1798.106): You have the right to request that We correct inaccurate personal information that We maintain about You.
• Right to Opt-Out of Sale or Sharing (CCPA § 1798.120 / CPRA § 1798.120): You have the right to direct Us not to sell or share Your personal information. To opt out, please contact Us at Info@askowethu.co.za with the subject line "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information."
• Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information (CPRA § 1798.121): To the extent We process sensitive personal information (as defined by the CPRA), You have the right to limit Our use of such information to that which is necessary to perform the services or provide the goods You request.
• Right to Non-Discrimination (CCPA § 1798.125): We will not discriminate against You for exercising any of Your California privacy rights. We will not deny You goods or services, charge You different prices, provide a different level or quality of goods or services, or suggest that You may receive a different price, rate, level, or quality of goods or services as a result of exercising Your rights.

How to Submit a California Privacy Request

To exercise Your California privacy rights, You or an authorized agent may submit a verifiable consumer request by contacting Us at Info@askowethu.co.za. We will confirm receipt within 10 business days and respond within 45 calendar days. If We require more time, We will notify You of the reason and extension period (up to an additional 45 days). We may need to verify Your identity before processing a request. You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on Your behalf; authorized agents must provide written permission signed by You, and We may require You to verify Your identity directly with Us.

You may make a verifiable consumer request for data access or data portability twice within any 12-month period free of charge.

California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)

CalOPPA is the first state law in the United States to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. Its reach extends well beyond California to require any person or company in the United States (and potentially the world) that operates websites collecting Personally Identifiable Information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website.

In accordance with CalOPPA, We agree to the following:

• Conspicuous posting: Our Privacy Policy link includes the word "Privacy" and can be easily found on the homepage of our website.
• Notification of changes: We will notify users of any Privacy Policy changes on our Privacy Policy page and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
• Personal information changes: Users can change their personal information by logging into their account or by contacting Us via email at Info@askowethu.co.za.

Do Not Track Signals

California law requires Us to let You know how We respond to web browser Do Not Track ("DNT") signals. We currently do not respond to DNT browser signals or mechanisms because there is no industry-wide standard for such signals. If a standard is established and We are required to follow it, We will update this Privacy Policy accordingly.

We do not allow third parties to collect personally identifiable information about Your online activities over time and across different websites when You use our Service, except to the extent described in this Privacy Policy.

Third-Party Tracking and Behavioral Advertising

Pursuant to CalOPPA, We disclose that third parties, including analytics providers and advertising partners listed in this Privacy Policy, may use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies on our Service to collect information about Your online activities over time and across different websites. This information may be used to provide interest-based advertising.

Children's Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 16. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us. If We become aware that We have collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 16 without verification of parental consent, We take steps to remove that information from Our servers.

If We need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing Your information and Your country requires consent from a parent, We may require Your parent's consent before We collect and use that information.

Links to Other Websites

Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by Us. If You click on a third party link, You will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on Our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us:

• By email: Info@askowethu.co.za